Stacking device



Nov. 5, 1968 A. F. SHIELDS STACKING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Deo.27, 1965 Nov. s, 196s A. F. SHIELDS 3,409,148

STACKING DEVICE Filed D60. 27. 1965 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 5, 1968 A.F. SHIELDS STACKING DEVICE Filed Dec. 27, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 IFJ .E

Nov. 5, 1968 Filed Dec. 27, 1965 O 0 D O O O A.F.SPHELDS STACKING DEVICE4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent O 3,409,148 STACKING DEVICE AlbertF. Shields, 43 Exeter St., Forest Hills, N.Y. 11375 Filed Dec. 27, 1965,Ser. No. 516,421 13 Claims. (Cl. 214-6) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSUREBoxfolding, stacking' and straightening 'apparatus is provided withindependently .adjustable upper conveyor belts to positively controlfeeding of folded boxes to a point along the feed path as close to thestacking section as practical |without interfering with entry of foldedboxes to the bottom of a rising stack. Upper conveyor belts areselectively pivoted between two discrete positions in one of which theupper belt remains in4 engagement with lthe folded box until a pointvery close to the stacking section to retain positive control ofrelatively short boxes. In the other position the upper beltreleases'engagement with the folded box at a point considerably to therear of the stacking section so that the liftinlg of relatively longboxes in the stacking section will not be impeded by the horizontalconveyor means. Boxes of irregular shape at the leading edge Iarehandled without skewing by placing different sections of the'upper beltin different positions. The barrier in the stacking section to arrestforward movement'of the blanks is stepped in a forward direction and isprovided with a transition region including Ia roller 'rotating on ahorizontal axis so as to lift the leading edges of the folded boxes andin this way minimize the weight applied to folded boxes as they enterthe stacking section. Periodically, a delivery device engages the upperend of the stack to remove a pile of boxes therefrom. Suchdelivery'device is provided with independently adjustable stop means fora plurality of vertically movable pusher arms so thatvthe irregularshape of the folded box at the top of the stack will not prevent thedelivery of a pile having a predetermined number of folded boxestherein. At the end of .a run, the last few folded boxes are raised tola position at the top of the barrierby a manually operated lift meansto clearthe top of the barrier means and be removed by the pusher arms.

The instant invention relates to paper box making machinery in generaland in particular relates to an improved construction of the type ofapparatus disclosed in my United States Patent 3,203,561 issued Aug. 31,1965, and entitled, Lift Cam for Stacking Device.

Broadly speaking, devices of the type under consideration .include feedbelts 'which receive blanks issuing from a folding machine as foldedtubular boxes and convey these blanks ,along a generally horizontal feedpath to a point where the side edges of the blanks are engaged bylifting screws and the forward movement of the blanks is arrested byengagement of the leading edges with a vertically extending barrierpositioned forward of the lifting screws. The lifting screws raise theblanks above the feed path to forml .a bottom fed stack and a pushermeans, operated in time relationship 'with the lifting screws, moveshorizontally from the rear into engagement lwith the top portion "of thestack to` remove a pile containing a predetermined number of blanks.

As'hereinafter described' in detail, the instant invention providesimproved horizontal conveyor means which include upper belt sectionsthat are selectively .adjustable so that these belt sections will n-otcause interference with blanks after they have been engaged by thelifting screws. More particularly, in the case of relatively shortblanks,

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it is necessary to provide driving power by the conveyor belts to apoint very close to the lifting screws. However, if driving power tothis same point is maintained when relatively long blanks are beinghandled, the rear of these long blanks will be held down by the conveyormeans while the lifting screws are raising the front portion of theselong blanks. If these blanks are extremely long, the lifting belts willraise the blank a considerable distance prior to release of the blank bythe conveyor belt and under these circumstances the blanks Iwill bedamaged.

In order to alleviate this condition the upper conveyor belt means ofthe instant invention is selectively positionable so that it positivelydrives short blanks to la point very close to the lifting belts. Whenrelatively long blanks are being handled the upper feed belt means isrepositioned so that it ceases to positively drive the relatively longblank prior to the time that this blank is lifted to any great extent bythe lifting sorews.

This upper belt means is hereinafter shown as comprising twoindependently adjustable sections so as to facilitate the handling ofdie cut boxes in which one portion of the trailing edge extendsconsiderably to the rear of another portion of the trailing edge. Underthe latter circumstances the more rearwardly extending trailing edgeportion is released by the upper conveyor belt means at a pointconsiderably to the rear of the point at which the less rearwardlyextending trailing edge portion of the blank is released by the upperconveyor belt means. This assures a positive conveyor movement of theblank without cocking until such time as the blank is well under thecontrol of the lifting screws.

As previously noted, in the device under consideration an underfed stackis formed by lifting screws positioned at the sides of the stack nearthe rear thereof. The threads of the lifting screws separate andpositively support the blanks at the rear of the stack but at theforward end of the stack the lower blanks support the upper blanks.Under certain operating conditions, principally when the stack ispermitted to become relatively high prior to removal of the top portion,the stack becomes relatively heavy and, unless appropriate measures aretaken, a considerable downward force acts upon the lo-wer blanks in thestack land may interfere with the entry of new blanks at the bottom ofthe stack. In order to overcome this A condition the instant inventionprovides .a vertical barrier means having a forwardly stepped portion atthe upper end thereof with the upper and lower portion-s of the barriermeans being connected by a transition means so constructed that thebottom blanks in the stack are not required to support the Iweight ofthe blanks positioned at the forwardly stepped upper end of the barriermeans.

In the form of the instant invention to be hereinafter described thetransition region is formed by a peripheral portion of a wheel meanswhich is positioned and rotated so that the peripheral portion movesupwardly and forward. Once the leading edge of a blank is engaged by thewheel means this blank is lifted away from the blanks below thetransition region so that the weight thereof no longer acts on theblanks entering the stack from below.

In order to assure that each of the piles removed from the top of thestack contains the same number of blanks it is essential that engagementbetween the pusher means and the top of the stack be accuratelycontrolled. It has been found that with a single pusher means memberengaging the top of the stack, quite often the desired results are notachieved. In the case of boxes having glue joints, it is believed thatthe last mentioned undesirable effect results from the fact that a gluejoint, even though` crushed, presents a thickness greater than thethickness of a single sheet of uncrushed board, with this additionalthickness being a variable quantity within a given run.

It has been found that superior results are obtained by constructing apusher comprised of side-by-side members which are independentlyadjustable to their lowermost, or stack engaging, positions. As willhereinafter be shown, the adjusting means is so constructed andpositioned that it may be operated while the pusher means is inoperation thereby facilitating the making of adjustments required tocompensate for unpredictable variations.

Accordingly, a primary object of the instant invention is to provide anovel construction for the stacking section of box making apparatus.

Another object is to provide apparatus of this type having novelhorizontal conveyor means.

Still another object is to provide apparatus of this type having novelmeans for limiting forward movement of the blanks.

A further object is to provide apparatus of this type having novel meansfor lifting the stack to delivery position at a time after the lastblank is fed into the stacking device.

A still further object is to provide apparatus of this type with novelpusher means to increase accuracy of the count in piles of blanks beingdelivered.

These as well as other objects of this invention will become readilyapparent after reading the following description of the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGURE l is a longitudinal cross-section taken through line 1-1 ofFIGURE 2 looking in the direction of arrows 1--1 and illustratingapparatus constructed in accordance with the teachings of the instantinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan view taken through line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view showing a die cut blank ata time when its forward motion has been arrested in the stacking region.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary cross-section taken through line 4-4 of FIGURE2 looking in direction of arrows 4-4.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation illustrating therelationship between selected elements at the front barrier.

FIGURE 6 is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrows 6 6 ofFIGURE 1 and showing one section of the pusher means for removing pilesof blanks from the stacking section.-

FIGURE 6A is a side elevation of the pusher means looking in thedirection of arrows 6A-6A of FIGURE 6.

Now referring to the gures and more particularly to FIGURE 1. Theportions of the box making apparatus incorporating the novel features ofthe instant invention include conveyor means 11 which receives boxblanks in folded tubular form from a folding machine (not shown)positioned to the left of FIGURE l. Conveyor means 11 moves the blanksforward along a generally horizontal feed path and delivers these blanksto lift cam operated roller 99 and lift screws 12, 13. The threads ofscrew means 12, 13 engage the edges of the blanks to impart upwardmovement to such blanks to form stack 14 which is fed from below.Forward movement of the blanks is arrested by barrier means 15, shownenlarged in FIGURE 5. Delivery means 16, positioned above stack 14,periodically engages the upper portion of stack 14 to remove a pile 17of blanks from the top of stack 14 and deliver pile 17 in a forwarddirection on to the rollers of conveyor table 18.

Conveyor means 11 is, in essence, 3 pairs of continuous belt devicesdriven at the same speed with lower belt device and 2 belts 23 and 23a,sections 19, 23, 23a

positioned below the feed path for entering blanks andupper belt devicesections 20, 21, 22 positioned above the feed path. The lower flight ofbelt 20 and the upper flight of belt 19 always confront one another andwith belts 21, 22 in the positions shown in FIGURE 4, the lower tlightsthereof also confront the upper flights of belts 23 and 23a,respectively. Belts 21 and 2,3 are mating belts which are located on oneside of the machine while belts 22 and 23a are mating belts whichperform the same function as belts 21, 23 on the other side of conveyormeans 11.

Since details of the chains and sprockets connecting the power source tothe elements of the apparatus for operation in timed coordination formno part of the instant invention and are within the knowledge of thoseskilled in the art, descriptions thereof are not contained herein.

Conveyor belt means 26, positioned forward of lifting screws 12, 13, isprovided with an upper generally horizontal flight positioned slightlyabove the upper flight of belt 19. Belt means 26 consists of a pluralityof narrow parallel sections all driven in a clockwise direction withrespect to FIGURE 1 by pulleys and associated chain and sprocket means.The front edges of blanks fed by conveyor means 11 passed lifting screws12, 13 are initially supported by belt means 26 which guides the forwardedges of the blanks to the lower end of barrier means 15. Such guidanceis assured by slat 27 positioned just below the lower end of barriermeans 15 and supports the upper tlights of belt means 26.

Lifting screws 12, 13 provide a positive upward movement to the blanksin stack 14 in the vicinity of the rear portion of stack 14. At theforward portion of stack 14 the leading edge of a blank newly arrived atthe bottom of stack 14 forces blanks thereabove in an upward direction.Hold down elements 28, 29 extending forwardly from hinge means 30 applydownward forces to stack 14 and pile 17 to prevent opening of the gluejoints of the folded tubular boxes prior to setting of the glue. Pushermeans portion 32 of delivery means 16 periodically engages the topportion of stack 14 and moves pile 17 in a forward direction.

At the end of a run of a given order of boxes, after the last blankentering conveyor means 11 has been fed to the bottom of stack 14 it isnecessary to provide additional means to raise the forward end of stack14 above front gage 32 at the upper end of barrier means 15. This isaccomplished by manually operable lifting means (FIGURE 5) to behereinafter described. The description of the apparatus illustrated inthe drawings has, up to this point, been relatively brief. For a moredetailed description of the basic elements of the illustrated apparatusreference is made to my aforesaid U.S. Patent 3,203,561 and my U.S.Patent Numbers 3,063,- 577 and 2,963,177, as well as any additionalpublications and/or patent applications referred to in the aforesaidpatents. Accordingly, the following description will, for the most part,be limited to those elements which per se, or in combination with otherelements, constitute the novel features of the instant invention.

Adjustable sections of conveyor means 11 Belt 20, though not necessarilypositioned on the longitudinal cent-er line of the apparatus, isnevertheless referred to as the center belt. It is noted that centerbelt 20 at its forward end is supported by wheel 41 mounted to shaft 42with a considerable space existing between the forward end of belt 20and lift screws 12, 13.

Each of the belts 21, 22 is of identical size and shape and is supportedby identical members so that for the sake of brevity, but withoutsacrificing clarity, only a description of the mounting for belt 22 willbe given. As best seen in FIGURE 4, belt 22 is guided along a pathdefined by wheels 43, 44, 45. The shafts to which wheels 44, 45 aremounted extend from movable frame member 46 pivotally mounted with shaft42 as a pivot center. Frame member 46 is operable from its loweredposition shown in the solid line in FIGURE 4 to a raised position shownin phantom in FIGURE 4. Spring 47 and stop means 48 engage frame 46 tohold the latter in its lowered and raised positions, respectively.

It is noted that with frame 46 in its lowered position, belt 22 extendsforward of belt 20 (as seen in the dashed lines of FIGURE l) to aposition in line with slapper bar 49 which is oscillated longitudinallywith respect to the box feed path and is positioned so as to engage thetrailing edges of blanks being raised by lifting screws 12, 13. Whenframe number 46 is in its raised position belt 22 extendsno furtherforward than belt 20.

The adjustments for belts 21, 22 make possible the utilization of theapparat-us illustrated for stacking both very short and very longblanks. More particularly, if frame numbers 46 were in their loweredpositions of FIG- URE 4 at a time when relatively long blanks were beingprocessed, lifting screws 12, 13 would impart a considerable amount ofupward movement to a blank prior to release of such blanks by belts 21,22 in that in the lowered position of frame number 46 belts 21, 22extend to a position extremely close to lifting screws 12, 13. Becauseof this relatively short distance between belts 21, 22 and screws 12, 13and lift imparted to the blank by screws 12, 13 cause deflection of theblank to the point where it would be damaged. Hence, for relatively longblanks each of the frame members 46 must be moved toits raised positionwhere the distance between belts 21, 22 and screws 12, 13 is relativelygreat so that the angle yof deflection caused by the lifting of therelatively long blank while it is still engaged by belts 21, 22 will notdamage this blank. Naturally, when a relatively short blank is beingprocessed if frame 46 is in its raised position conveyor means 11 willcease exerting a positive drive force in the forward direction possiblybefore such short blank is fully engaged by lifting screws 12, 13 andcertainly before such blank is in the vicinity of barrier means 15.Thus, for relatively short blanks it is necessary that the positivedriving force by conveyor means 11 be applied to a point very close tolifting screws 12, 13.

Movable belts 21, 22 are provided with independent adjustments in orderto accommodate the handling of die cut blanks having trailing edges inwhich one side extends considerably more to the rear than the otherside, such as blank 51 (FIGURE 3) with portion 51a extendingconsidenably more to the rear than portions 51b. If both of the belts21, 22 could only be adjusted simultaneously, the only adjustment thatwould not damage blank 51 would be to raise both belts 21, 22. However,if this is done a positive driving force ceases to act on portion 51b ata time considerably in advance of the time when positive a driving forceceases to operate on portion 51a :and because of this blank 51 wouldcock and cause the apparatus to malfunction.

Thus, instead of adjusting both belts 21, 22 to their upward positions,as seen in FIGURE 3, belt 22 is adjusted to its upward position whilebelt 21 is in its lowered position. With such adjustment the release ofportion 51b by belt 21 occurs at approximately the same time as therelease of portion 51a by belt 22 so that a positive drive exerted-uniformly on both sides of blank 51 is eifective to a point where blank51 is well under the control of lifting screws 12, 13 and the forwardmovement of blank 51 is arrested by barrier 15.

Front barrier means Front barrier means 1S, shown most clearly in FIG-URE S, provides a vertically extending wall with a lower portion 15a andan upper portion 15b forwardly offset from portion 15a. The step betweenportions 15a, 15b is gradual and takes place at a transition kregionformed by a peripheral portion 62 of roller means 63 which is con--tinuously rotated by motor 64 in the direction indicated by arrow A inYFIGURE 5 about shaft 65 as a center. Thus, peripheral portion 62provides an upwardly and forwardly sloping surface moving upwardly.

It is noted that peripheral portion 62 is illustrated :as extending forless than 90 and that lowerportion 15a is tangent to peripheral portion62 with the upper end to portion 15a terminating at the tangent point.While this contiguration has been found to produce superior results whenfolder tubular boxes of corrugated paper board are being handled, it isrecognized that the angular ex- CTI 6 tent of peripheral portion :andits position relative to barrier portions 15a, 15b may be varied whenhandling different articles or to achieve different results in aparticular area.

As each blank enters stack 14, being driven forward by momentum and theaction of belt means 26, it'wedges its way between belt means 26 and thebottom stack 14. Lower barrier portion 15a arrests forward 'movement ofthe newly entering blank by engaging its leading edge. As additionalblanks enter stack 14 from below the forward portions thereof are wedgedinto position at the bottom of stack 14 forcing the forward portions ofblanks thereabove to move upwardly at essentially the same rate aslifting screws 12, 13 impart rupward movement to the rear portions ofthese blanks.. When the leading edge of a blank moving upwardly in'stack 14 reaches the top of lower barrier portion 15a, this leadingedge is engaged by the knurled periphery of roller means 63 at itsperipheral portion 62. The upward and forward movement of peripheralportion `62 draws the blank in engagement therewith away from theportion of stack 14 below this blank thereby removing the weight of thisblank and all blanks thereabove from the portion of stack 14 below thisblank.

It is noted that slapper bar 49, which is vibrated generally parallel tothe blank feed path as indicated by line V in FIGURE 5, impartshammerlike blows to the trailing edges of the blanks in stack 14directed towards barrier means 15 to effect a straightening action tothese blanks as fully described in my aforesaid U.S. Patent No.3,203,561.

For purposes of describing the instant invention it is sufficient tonote that the forward surface of slapper bar 49 is provided with aforward surface having generally vertical sections 49a, 49b joined byforwardly sloping transition section 66. Upper section 49b is positionedforward of lower section 49a. It is noted that transition section 66essentially complements peripheral portion 62 so that as the leadingedge of a blank is drawn upwardly and forwardly by peripheral portionl62 the trailing edge of this blank is in engagement with the forwardlysloping transition section 66, and that at the time that the leadingedge of this blan-k engages upper section 15b the upper section -49b ofslapper bar 49 will be effective to continue with the straighteningaction.

Manually operated stack lifting means At the end of a run there are noadditional blanks entering stack 14 to lift the forward portion of thebottom blank in the stack. Thus, even though lifting screws 12, 13continue to lift the rear portion of the entire stack to deliveryposition above the upper end of front barrier portion 15b, deliverycannot be effected. Accordingly, the instant invention provides manuallyoperated lift means indicated generally by reference to mode 70 in FIG-URE 5.

As previously noted, conveyor belt means 26 is comprised of a pluralityof narrow belts positioned parallel to one another and spacedtransversely with respect to the generally horizontal feed path for theblanks. Lift means 70 includes transversely extending pivotally mountedsupport rod 71 to which a plurality of members 72 are mounted. Each ofthe members 72 is of generally U-shaped with one arm 72a considerablylonger than the other arm 72b. Wheel 73 is rotatably mounted at the freeend of arm 72a while the free end of arm 72b is xedly secured to rod 71.Arms 72 are transversely spaced along rod 71 so that each of the rollers73 is positioned in alignment with a different space between thesections forming belt means 26. L-shaped crank 74 is ixedly secured atone of its ends to rod 71 while the other end of crank 74 is providedwith transversely extending handle 75.

When belt means 26 is not supporting any blanks the upper flight thereofis essentially aligned with the most upwardly extending points ofrollers 73 in the lowered position for lift means 70, established by theengagement of crank 74 with stop 76. As a stack of blank 14 is beingformed, belt means 26 begins to sag so that the front end of stack 14 isnowsupportedby rollersv73 thereby relieving belt means 26` fromsupporting the weight of stack 14. y

After the last blank in a particular run has its forward movementarrested by barrier means 15, cran-k 74 is manually operated in aclockwise direction about rod 71 as a center thereby raising roller 73'to thephantom position of FIGURE 5. The raised position for lift means70 is established by engagement of arms 72 with bar 27. In this raisedposition of lift means 70 the bottommost blank in the stack 14 ispositioned with-its forward end above the upper end of upper barriersection 15b. Thus, when lifting screws 12, 13 lift the rear end of thebottommost blank in stack 14 to a position for engagement by pushermeans 32y the remaining portionY of stack 14 will be delivered by pusher32 to conveyor 18.

i Pusher means The driving and stabilizing means 79 (FIGURE 1) forpusher means 32 forms no part of the instant invention so that adetailed description thereof will not be given herein except to notethat such mechanism is described in detail in my patents hereinbeforenoted.

While pusher means 32 consists of two identical sections 32a, 32a onlyone of these sections is illustrated (see FIGURES 6 and 6A). Both pushermeans sections 32a, 32a occupy positions in a single plane perpendicularto the blank feed path and are usually positioned on opposite sides ofthis feed path. As will hereinafter become apparent, the transversepositions of the pusher means sections are independently adjustable asare the lowermost positions thereof.

Pusher means 32a is connected to the chains 79a, 79b of driving means 79by vertically spaced laterally extending frame rails 83a, 83h whoseopposite ends are connected to different vertical tie rods `83, 83connected directly to link of chains 79a, 79b.

Vertically extending guide bar 84 is slidably mounted to rails 83a, 83hby gibs 82a, 82b, respectively. Clamp means `82C associated with gib 82bclamps vertical guide bar 84 in its adjusted position along the lengthsof rails 83a, 83b.

At a point below gib 82b bolts 85a secure lateral guide block 86 to bar84, adjusting rod 92, threaded at its upper end extends downward throughclearance aperture 91a in block 86. The lower end of rod 92 is aixed tostop plate 87 while knurled adjusting nut 93 is threadably mounted torod 92 above block 86. Rod 89 extends downward from block 86 throughclearance aperture 91 in plate 87 to stabilize plate 87 against rotationas nut 93 is rotated. Coiled compression spring 92a mounted to rod 92biases plate 87 downward to its adjusted position established by theposition of nut 93 along rod 92. The lower end of guide bar 84 extendsdownwardly into the upper end of tubular pusher 85 w-hich, as seen inFIGURE 1, is the portion of pusher means section 32a which engages therear of stack 14 to remove pile 17 therefrom. Pusher 85 is biaseddownwardly by gravity with its downward movement being limited by ear 86which extends laterally from pusher 85 to engage the upper surface ofadjustable platelike stop member 87. Wheels 98, 99 mounted to bar 84 arepositioned to engage the front :and back inner surfaces, respectively,of pusher 85 and thereby reduce friction acting to impede upwardmove-ment of pusher 85 relative to bar 84 during delivery of pile 17from the top of stack 14. In this connection it is noted that wheel 99is positioned above wheel 98. Pusher means section 32a is intended to beadjusted while delivery means 16 is in operation and preferably justprior to engagement of pusher 85 with the rear of stack 14. By turningnut 93 the position of stop plate 87 is -adjusted vertically withrespect to bar 84 and rails 83a, 83h thereby establishing the lowermostposition for pusher 85. This lowermost position for pusher 85 is theposition it will occupy at the moment of engagement with the rear ofstack 14. During the interval when pusher is delivering pile 17, liftingscrews 12, 13 continue to raise stack 14 and in so doing the portion ofstack 14 below pusher 85 causes upward movement thereof with-this-movement being permitted by the telescoping relationship of verticalguide 84 `and tubular pusher 85. The position of adjusting nut 93 issuch that it may be convenientljl reached by an operator so that theoperator may observe the exact position of pusher 85 relative to ystack14 at the moment of initial engagement with stack 14 and make necessarycorrective adjustment of member 87 before the next cycle of pusher means32.

The adjustment of'pusher means section 32a, 32a are made independentlyof each other since different sizes of blanks and blanks contructed ofdifferent types of materials present panels which are differentiallypositioned with respect to each of the pusher means sections 32a, 32a.It is essential that the pushers 85 of both sections 32a, 32a be4positioned to positively engage the lowermost blank vin pile 17 at theinstant of initial engagement. If only one of the pushers 85 engages thebottommost blank in pile 17 this blank will skew and cause jamming ofthe apparatus.

Thus, it is seen that the instant invention provides an improvedstacking Iand delivery device which includes novel yadjustable beltmeans for delivering blanks to a stacking section which includes novelrotatable wheel means constituting a transition section between upperand lower vertical barrier sections with the upper section beingforwardly set wit-h respect to the bottom section. Also ineluded arenovel manually operated means to lift the stack of blanks lat theforward end thereof to facilitate removal at the end of a run, and-noveltakeoff means having a plurality of independently adjustable pushermeans section.

Although there has been described a preferred embodiment of this novelinvention, many variations and modifications will now be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is to be limited,not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appending claims.

I claim:

1. In the combination of a machine for operating on box blanks anddelivery apparatus adapted for use with said machine; said apparatuscomprising a stacking means and a conveyor means extending between saidmachine and said stacking means; said conveyor means receiving blanksissuing from said mechanism and moving these blanks forward along aIgenerally horizontal feed path to said stacking means; said conveyormeans including first and second sections, one above and the other belowsaid feed path; said sections mounted in opposed relationship and lbothbeing positioned to engage blanks moving along said feed path and drivethese blanks forward; the improvement comprising adjustable mountingmeans for selectively positionin-g said first section at a first and asecond position while said second section remains in fixed longitudinalposition along said feed path; when in said first position said firstsection after engaging a blank thereafter releasing this blank at afirst point of said feed path; when in said second position said firstsection after engaging a blank thereafter releasing this blank at asecond point of said feed path; said first Aand saidV second pointsbeing longitudinally spaced along said feed path with said second pointpositioned forward of said first point.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said rst sectionincludes first and second portions disposed on opposite sides of alongitudinal center line for said feed path; each of said portionsmounted for independent adjustment to said first and said secondpositions.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 1 in which said first and saidsecond sections are comprised of first and second continuous belt means,respectively; a greater length of said Afirst belt means bein-g directlyopposed to said second section when said first section is in said secondposition than when said yfirst section is in said first position.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 3 in which the mounting meansincludes pivot means about which said rst section is bodily movable as au-nit to said first and said second positions; said pivot meanspositioned in the vicinity of said first point; guide means for saidfirst belt means including a member rotatable about said pivotal axis;said rfirst belt means inclluding a lower flight extending from said-rst point forward to said second point when said iirst section is insaid second position.

5. In the combination of a machine for operating on box blanks anddelivery apparatus adapted for use with said machine; said apparatuscomprising a stacking means and a conveyor means extending between saidmachine and said stacking means; said conveyor means receiving blanksissuing from said mechanism and moving these blanks forward along agenerally horizontal feed path to said stacking means; said stackingmeans including first m-eans for imparting upward movement to blanks asthey enter said stacking means; said stacking means including a secondmeans providing a barrier means positioned forward of said 4first means;said barrier means extending generally vertically above said feed pathand positioned to engage leading edges of blanks moving along feed pathto thereby arrest fonward movement of these blanks; the improvementcomprising the construction of said barrier means with upper and lowersurface portions, said upper and lower surface portions being stationaryand rigid, said upper surface portion disposed at a location steppedforward of said lower surface portion.

`6. A combination as set forth in claim 5 in which the stacking meansforms ya stack of blanks that is fed from the bottom; a delivery meanswhich periodically removes the top portion of the stack from saidstacking means; lifting means including a member engageable with thebottommost blank in the stack at a point forward of said lirst means, inthe vicinity of said barrier means and to the rear thereof; said membernormally stationary in a lowered position and being movable to a raisedposition to thereby lift the bottommost blank to a position where thedelivery means removes such bottommost blank from said stacking meanstogether with all those blanks in the stack above such bottommost blank.

7. A combination as set forth in claim 5 in which the stacking meansforms a stack of blanks that is fed from the bottom; a delivery meanswhich periodically removes the top portion of the stack; said deliverymeans including pusher means operated in timed relation with said firstmeans, means for guiding movement of said pusher means in a raised pathfwhile moving rearward and in a lowered path while moving forward; saidpusher means when in said raised path being above the topmost blank insaid stack and when in said lowered path engaging said top portion atthe rear thereof and moving said top portion forward of said barriermeans; said pusher means including a first pusher Iand a second pusherpositioned side by side, means mounting said pushers for verticalmovement independent of one another, first and second stop means forlimiting downward movement of said first and second pushers,respectively, and means for ma-klng independent adjustments of saidfirst and second stop means.

8. A combination as set forth in claim 9 including a slapper meansoscillating generally parallel to said feed path and positioned rearwardof said first means and engageable with said blanks at the trailingedges thereof as said blanks are being llifted by said first means; saidslapper means having a forwardly and upwardly sloping section positionedto engage blanks that are in engagement with said transition section;said slapper mea-ns including additlonal sections positioned to engageblanks that are in engagement with said upper and said lower surfaceporlons.

9. A combination as set forth in claim 5 in which the barrier means alsoincludes an rupwardly iand forwardly sloping transition sectionpositioned between said rupper and said lower surface portions.

10. A combination as set forth in claim 9 in which there is a rotatablewheel means having a peripheral portion constituting said transitionsection.

11. A combination as set forth in claim 10 also including meansimparting continuous rotation to said wheel means.

12. A combination as set forth in claim 11 further including meansdefining a rotational axis for said wheel means, said rotational axispositioned forward of said lower portion of said barrier means, saidlower portion of said barrier means being tangent to said peripheralportion.

13. A combination as set forth in claim 12 in which said peripheralportion extends for no more than ninety degrees.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,454,924 5/ 1923 Halvorsen 214-61,819,841 8/1931 Hudson 214-6 1,957,318 5/1934 Bush 214-8.5 2,931,520 4/1960 Shields 214-6 2,963,177 12/1960 Shields 214-6 3,030,867 4/1962Wright 214-6 3,063,577 12/1962 Shields 214-6 3,067,885 12/ 1962 Kohler214-8.5 3,174,633 3/1965 Stevens 214-8.5

ALBERT J. MAKAY, Primary Examiner.

